candj83

I had the good fortune to attend the Foire de Chatou in fall 2015 and it was an absolute trip highlight for me. We have tickets in and out of Paris again this fall 2017 and we had originally planned to visit the Dordogne Perigord Noir area first and end our trip in Paris. I had hoped to be in Paris for the end of the market but we won't be (they didn't have dates published that far in advance) so I would have to either split our Paris portion or do Paris first and end in the Loire Valley. I am wondering if any of the other flea markets in Paris are comparable to the Foire de Chatou? I hate to go to all that work of restructuring our trip if we can have a similar experience (sans the food focus) at one of the other markets...and I've been looking forward to visiting the Dordogne. I'm conflicted and eager to hear your flea market feedback!

WoinParis

you might try this site.

http://www.antiquites-catalogue.com/...s-antiquaires/

Christina

No, you won't find anything like it in Paris, that isn't a regular brocantes or flea market, it's like an annual convention of flea market dealers. So you won't find a regular weekly local one similar to it. There are some in other areas that are huge annual or biannual ones bigger than the weekly ones, but in different areas (ie, Isle sur la Sorgue has one in April that is as big as that one in Paris).

They have one in Toulouse that is much smaller than the FOire de Chatou, but bigger than a typical one, but it's in April and then probably December. Of course the ongoing one in Paris at St Ouen is large, but about half the size of the Foire de Chatou, and isn't brocante so much as antiques.

fuzzbucket

The food aspect is being phased out, and the merchandise is what counts at Foire de Chatou. Nothing compares to the immensity of Foire de Chatou.

There is a lot of junk and more upscale antique and vintage dealers at Saint Ouen/Clingancourt. Only open on Sat and Sun - Mon is for the professional dealers. But you could see everything in one full day. There are restaurants, if you get hungry.

Envierges

What about the Braderie- Lille? (It was cancelled last year.) The dates might match your visit. I went once and what a scene!!!

http://france.fr/fr/agenda/braderie-lille-1

candj83

This is exactly what I was wondering about - the quality and selection of goods at Chatou de Foire was wonderful. I've never been to any of the other markets so I have nothing to compare it to, to know if any of the others are similar, which it sounds like they are not. We are definitely more interested in vintage items, not so much upscale antiques.

We will be in France September 29 - October 8 so the Braderie-Lille will not be possible for us. With your help I now know what to expect from some of the other markets...so now we just need to decide what the higher priority is for us for this trip thank you!

StCirq

If your plans still include going to the Périgord, there is a vide-grenier/brocante almost every Friday in St-Pompon that stretches over I don't know how many hectares, but it's huge (field after field of stuff - it takes all day to see it all), and has stuff that is way, way better and cheaper than anything you could ever find in Paris or Lille. It's a treasure trove. We furnished much of our house - very nicely - from this place. It makes you really look down your nose on places like Isle-sur-la-Sorgue that charge foreigners totally outrageous price for moldy wood stuff that grandma discarded because it had bugs.

candj83

St Cirq, I just found that market on a website saying the hours are 9:00-13:00. We arrive that Friday morning in Paris and would have no chance of getting there that quickly. I'm bummed. Sounds like a fabulous market. If you have any other recommendations, I'm all ears!

candj83

I see the village of Saillac has a vide-grenier that we could check out. Does anyone know the quality of items there?

kerouac

A vide-grenier is the French term for a garage sale or a swap meet.

fuzzbucket

A "brocante" is usually more upscale, with professional antique dealers and decent vintage "junque".
I would skip the vide-grenier.

kerouac

In any case, if you would like to see a vide-grenier or a brocante, they are absolutely everywhere almost all of the time.

This link shows the Paris metropolitan area, but you can set the region and date for anywhere you want.

https://vide-greniers.org/Ile-de-France

FuryFluffy

I didn't even know there existed a fair called "Foire de Chatou".

Coincidentally, the Foire de Chatou this spring is happening right now. I'll go there and report back. Of course I'm not an antique collector so I have no idea about the goods.

candj83

Thank you for the explanation of the terminology. It is very helpful!

Kerouac, that's the website I was using for looking at markets in the Dordogne area. It's very extensive. It seems to group them into different categories so understanding the French terminology is helpful to understand what I'm looking for.

FuryFluffy, I'm very excited to see if you liked it as much as I did.

candj83

I should add that I'm not an antiques collector either just a person who got hooked on going "junking" by my father as a young girl accompanying him to sales and shops. I still love going when I have a chance and the Foire de Chatou was a feast for my vintage-loving senses!

FuryFluffy

candj, you convinced me, the foire did look brilliant. Thanks for letting me know about the flea market. Here are the photos and report of mine for the Foire:

https://moveablefeastofamess.wordpre...iques-and-ham/

I don't think you'll find a similar fair in Paris. The quality and the variety of goods are indeed high. After all, it's the biggest antique fair in France.

Having said that, I would not re-schedule my whole trip to accommodate it, because buying household things is not my priority (yet). I can't say for your case... It really depends on each person's preference.